Accordion



April 1932- J. scHwARz. SR 1,852,066

ACCORDION Filed Nov. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l QWomgg April 1932- J SCHWARZ, SR 1,852,066

ACCORDION Filed Nov. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Julius 6chuar 5?.

Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNETED STATES PATENT ACCORDION Application filed November 16, 1931.

This invention relates to accordions and more particularly to means provided therein hereby other instruments such as a piano, organ, etc., may be automatically played by fingering the keys of the accordion.

The invention relates particularly to the ordinary type of accordion having a relatively few keys and each key operating to play two notes of the scale, one note being played when air is expelled from the bellows of the accordion and the other when air is drawn into the bellows. A novice may easily learn to play this type of accordion but the playing of a piano or organ with keys extending over a range of notes representing the same number of notes that the accordion will play is considerably more diflicult to learn. Vith the present invention which provides electrical means actuated by fingering the keys of the accordion and coactingmeans attached to a piano or organ playing the notes thereon, the novice who has readily learned to linger the keys of the accordion may simultaneously play the more difficult instrument without the necessity of additional instruction and practice which would ordinarily be required.

One of the principal difliculties to overcome in a device of this character has been that one key of the accordion represents two notes while on a piano or organ or like instrument each note is represented by its own key, the accordion selecting the note to be played when a key is depressed by either expanding or collapsing the bellows. Therefore it would be impossible to simply make an electrical contact on the accordion when the key was depressed which would actuate corresponding key or note of the accompanying instrument because actuating a single key of the accordion must control two keys or notes of the accompanying instru ment th same as it does in the accordion.

The resentinvention provides effective means i'or overcoming the above difiiculty am for causing two notes or keys of an accompanying instrument to be played and controlled by manipulation of a single key of the accordion accomplished by proper manipulation of the accordion bellows. The inven- Serial No. 575,242.

tion also provides various other novel features of construction and arrangement as hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an accordion with the present: invention operatively applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line :22 of'Fig. 1.

Figs. 8 and i are enlarged sectional views of the'two current controlling bellows.

Fig.5 is a diagram illustrating all of the essentials ofthis invention and including the apparatus on the accompanying instrument, and

Fig. 6'is an enlargedsectional view of a modified form of current-control bellows.

Like numbers refer to like parts in the different figures of the-drawings.

The figures of the drawings show only the end of the accordion in which is located the mechanism for playing the treble notes, the opposite end of the accordion being of usual construction. The accordion has the customary bellows 1 mounted on a frame 2 and the customary removable frame 3 is applied to the frame 2 and contains a head or closure at on which are mounted the reeds 5 and 6.

The reeds 5 and 6 are provided in pairs adjacent a corresponding pair of openings 7 and 8, respectively, which extend through the head {i and'a single valve 9 covers both openings 7' and 8 and lies against the outer face of the head 4. The valve 9 is rigidly mounted by av rod 10 on a key 11 which key is pivotally mounted'at 12 to a keyboard 13 and is provided with a finger piece 14;. A spring 15 under the key normally thrusts it outward to yieldably hold the valve 9 closed. Depression of the key 14 lifts the valve 9 and opens both passages 7 and 8 which lead to the reeds 5 and 6, respectively, and to the interior of the bellows.

The ordinary accordion has a plurality of groups of such keys, valves and reeds above described arranged in a row, the present drawings showing ten such groups and inasmuch as each group and each key actuates to play two notes a series of ten groups will play twenty notes.

i ate the present invention by means of which an accompanying mstrument such as a piano In order to play two notes controlled by one key and valve the respective reeds 5 and 6 are arranged so that one of them will play only when air is expelled from the bellows and the other will play only when air is drawn into the bellows, and the reed which is to play to produce the desired note is controlled by the player who either compresses or extends the bellows to select the proper note. The foregoing described construction is that of an ordinary accordion and is utilized to actuor organ may be played.

In the valve compartment which is within the frame 3 onthe outer side of the head 4 there are located two bars 16 and 17 which respectively support electric conductor bars 18 and 19. Extending diagonally downward and terminating in positions over the valve 9 are a series of spring contact members 20 and 21, one pair of such members 20 and 21 being located over each Valve 9 and the contact members 20 are electrically connected to the conductors 18 while the contact members 21 are electrically connected to the conductors 19. In the construction shown the contact members extend through the bars 16 and 17 which gives them support and are turned upwardly and joined to the conductors 18 and 19 for electric circuit. J

Adjacent the contact members 20 and 21 are a series of complementary spring contact members 22 and 23 also mounted on the bars 16 and 17 respectively for support and extending parallel with the respective contact members 20 and 21. On the upper surface of each valve 9 are provided two circuit closers 24 and 25 which, when the valves are closed, lie beneath the free ends of the spring contacts 20, 21, 22 and 23 and are spaced from them, but when the valves 9 are raised by depressing the keys 11 the circuit closers engage the said contact members and close an electric circuit between the respective contacts 20 and 21 and their complementary con tacts 22 and 23. In other words lifting a valve 9 causes a circuit closer 24 to engage a spring contact 20 and its complementary spring contact 22 and also the circuit closer 25 to engage the spring contact 21 and its complem'entary contact 23 thereby closing two electric circuits the remainder of which cirnumber with the spring contacts 22 and 23 and 111 the present disclosure wherem there are ten valves and a contact 22 and 23 for each valve there will be twenty binding posts 26 and it may be here said that each binding post 26 represents an individual note of the scale and carries an electric current by which itsrespective note may-be played as hereafter described.

Referring to the diagram, Fig. 5, the elements 27 represent four devices for produc ing four individual notes in accompanying instrument such as a piano or an organ and the elements 27 may be considered as representing piano keys or organ pipes to sound the notes C, D, E and F, for example, as indicated. The devices 28 are intended to represent electrically actuated means for producing the notes in the accompanying instrument and may be of any conventional nature such as magnetically operated devices for actuating piano keys or electrically actuating means of any nature for admitting air to play organ pipes. The exact nature of the electric device 28 and also of the accompanying instrument, whether it be a string instrument or a wind instrument, are immaterial of considerable length so that the accordion may be played at a place remote from the accompanying instrument.

7 The source of electric current is represented in the diagram at 30 and one of the conductors 31 therefor is led to be electrically connected to all of the plurality of control devices 28. The other conductor 32 for the source of current is led to the accordion where it is divided and electrically connected to both of two binding posts 33 and 34.

Upon the head 4 of the accordion and preferably near the opposite ends thereof are 10;

cated two small current control bellows 35 and 36 each of which has access through openings 37 with the interior of the main accordion bellows. These control bellows are of light and delicate construction and readily respond to any air pressure or suction created by the main bellows 1 and when the main bellows is compressed the control bellows are instantaneously expanded and when the main bellows is expanded the control bellows are immediately retracted. The bases of the control bellows are fixed to the head 4 and their covers are movable, being preferably hinged atone end.

Upon the movable cover of each control bellows 35 and 36 are mounted electric contacts 38 and 39 respectively which are electrically connected with the respective binding posts 33 and 34 by the conductors 38a and 39a. The electric contacts 38 and 39 be '40-and 41 which are in electric connection with the respective conductor bars 18 and 19. The contact 40 is arranged to be engaged by the contact 38 when the bellows 35' is retracted while the contact 31 is arranged to be engaged by thecontact 39 when the bellows 36 is extended.

The conductor bars 18 and 19 may be consideredas the current supply sources receiving' their currentv from the main source of supply through the conductor 32 but they are-only in circuit with the conductor 32 when the respective pairs o-f'contacts 38 and 10 01 39 and 41 are in engagement which engagement is governed by movement of the control bellows and 36 actuated by the main bellows 1 and as the said pairs of con-- tacts engage in opposite directions of the control bellows 35 and 36 it may be seen that there'can never be more than one pair of contacts in engagement at the same time under ordinary operating conditions.

In other words when the main bellows 1 is compressed both control bellows 35 and 36 will'be extended in which position the contact 39 engages its complementary contact 41 supplying current to the conductor bar 18 but the contact 38 is out of engagement with its complementary conductor and therefore the conductor bar 19 is not supplied with current. lVhen the main bellows 1 isextended both of the controlbellows 35 and 36-are collapsed and the opposite con tacts are made supplying the conductor bar 19 with current and leaving the conductor bar 18 without current.

It isdesiredthat when the main accordion diellows is at rest" that neither of the control contacts is completed and for this purpose the bellows 35 and 36 are so'constructed that they will normallylie in mid-positions which positions are'show-n in Figs. 3 and 1-. This depressing an accordion key but requires movement of the-accordion bellows to complete'either of the electric circuits.

Operation From the foregoing description it will be seen that depressing a key 11 and opening a valve 9 making it possible to play either one of two notes of the scale by either compressing or extending the main bellows 1 which will in turn cause one or the other of the reeds 5 and6 to sound a note, also closes the circuit between the two sets of contacts 20 and 22 and 21 and 23 which control two of the actuating devices 28 of the accompanying instrument representing corresponding notes and that the same manipulation of the main bellows 1 which controls the playing of either of the reeds 5 and 6, at the same time actuates the control bellows 35 and 36 which controls the current flowing to either of the said sets of contacts 20, 21, 22 and 23 thereby controlling the individual notes in the accompanying instrument.

To follow the operation in detail, when the key 9 is raised circuit is closed through the circuit closer 24 between the contacts 20 and 22 and through the circuit closer 25 between the contacts 21 and 23. This closing of the circuit between the same contacts completes electric circuit to two of the electric note actuating devices 28 which control the sounding of two notes in the accompanying instrument corresponding to the notes to be played by the reeds 5 and 6 excepting that such circuits are controlled and. opened or closed'by the control bellows and 36.

lVhen the main bellows l is compressed the reed 5 will sound a note and at' the same time the bellows 36 will expand and close the circuit between the contacts 39 and 4:1 sup-v plying current to the conductorbar 18thereby energizin the contacts 2O, 24 and 22 and actuating the note controlling device 28 in circuit therewith so that it will sound its respective note which note corresponds with the noteplayed by the reed 5. Extending the main bellows 1 willvibrate the reed 6 to sound its note and at the same time will retract the bellows 35 to close circuit between the contacts 38 and40 supplying current to the conductor bar 19 which energizes the contacts 21, 25 and 23 and actuates the note playing device 28 of the accompanying instrument which is in circuit therewith.

All of the ser'es of keys and contact members operate in a similar manner to control and sound corresponding notes of the accompanying instrument and therefore, for example, a ten key accordion will accurately play a twenty note accompanying instrument at the same time that the accordion is played and with no additional etlort on the part of the player, the electric energy being utilized to manipulate the accompanying instrument as controlled by the key actuated contacts and the bellows actuated control contacts.

The modified single control bellows structure shown in Fig. 6 comprises a lightly constructed bellows 42 similar to either of the bellows 35 and 36 and having access to the interior of the main bellows by an opening 37 and an electric contact 43 is mounted'on its movable cover. Fixed contact members 44 and 45 extending from, and are electrically connected to, the conductor bars 18 and 19 respectively are arranged on opposite sides of the contact 48 so that movement in either direction of the bellows cover and the contact 43 mounted thereon will result in engagement with one orthe other of said fixed contacts i l and l5. The contact 43 is electrically connected with the current supply conductor 32 by a flexible conductor 43a.

This single control bellows serves the same function as the double control bellows previously described since its extension by collapsing movement of the main bellows will supply current to the conductor bar 19 and its collapsing by extension of the main bellows will supply current to the conductor bar 18. Normally the contact 43 will be positioned between the contacts 44 and 45 and out of contact with either of them.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim: 7

1. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising,means for indi vidually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument actuated by movement of one key of the accordion combined with means actuated by movement of the accordion bellows, which controls the individual action of said note sounding means.

2. The combination with an accordion in 5 which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising, electrical means for individually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, means actuated by movement of one key of the accordion for closing the circuits of said electrical sounding means for both notes, and means actuated by the accordion bellows for completing the circuit selectively to either of said electric note sounding means. 7

3. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising, electrical means forindividually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, means actuated by movement of one key of the accordion for closing the circuits of said electrical sounding means for both notes, and means actuated by i the accordion bellows for completing the circuit selectively to either of said electric note sounding means, said bellows actuated means serving to open both of said circuits when the bellows is at rest.

4. The combination with an accordion in which one key control-s two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising, two electric devices for sounding two individual notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor for-each of said note sounding devices, a circuit closer in each of said individual conductors, both of said circuit'closers being actuated by a single key of the accordion and means actuated by the accordion bellows for selectively completing the circuit to either of said individual conductors.

5. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompany,- ing instrument comprising, two electric devices for sounding two individual notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor for each of said note sounding devices, a circuit closer in each of said individual conductors, both of said circuit closers being actuated by a single key of the accordion and means actuated by the accordion bellows for selectively completing the circuit to either of said individual conductors, said bellows actuated means serving to open both of said circuits when the bellows is at rest.

6. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising electric means for individually sounding two notes of the accom panying instrument, an individual electric conductor provided for each of said note sounding devices, a circuit breaker in each of said individual conductors, means actuated by a single'key of the accordion for actuating both or said circuit closures, a control bellows actuated by manipulation of the main accordion bellows and electrical means actuated by movement of said control bellows to selectively complete the electric circuit to either of said individual conductors.

7. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompany- 7 ing instrument comprising electric means for" xi individually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor provided for each of said note 110 sounding devices, a circuit breaker in each of said individual conductors, means actuated by a single key of the accordion for actuating both of said circuit closers, a control bellows actuated by manipulation of the main accor- 11 dion bellows and electrical means actuated by movement of said control bellows to selectively' complete the electric circuit to either of said individual conductors, said control bellows acting to open both of said circuits 0. when the main accordion bellows is at rest.

8. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising electric 125 means for individually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor provided for each of said note sounding devices, a circuit closer in each of said individual conductors, means 130 actuated by a single key of the accordion for actuating both of said circuit closers, two control bellows simultaneously actuated by manipulation of the main accordion bellows and electric circuit closers oppositely actuated by the respective control bellows for completing the electric circuit to either of the respective individual electric conductors.

9. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising, electric means for individually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor for each of said note sounding means, a circuit closed in each of said in dividual conductors, both of said circuit closers being closed by the opening of a single valve of the accordion and open when said Valve is closed, control bellows means actuated by manipulation of the main accordion bellows and means actuated by movement of said control bellows means for selectively completing the circuit to either of said individual conductors.

10. The combination with an accordion in which one key controls two notes, of means for controlling the playing of an accompanying instrument comprising, electric means for individually sounding two notes of the accompanying instrument, an individual electric conductor for each of said note sounding means, a circuit closer in each of said individual conductors, both of said circuit closers being closed by the opening of a single valve of the accordion and open when said valve is closed, control bellows means actuated by manipulation of the main accordion bellows and means actuated by movement of said control bellows means for selectively completing the circuit in either of said individual conductors, said selective circuit closing means being arranged to open both circuits when the accordion is at rest.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JULIUS SCHWARZ, SR. 

